Little White Lie
by lanuitestcalme
Summary: Deceit, after all, comes naturally to him.
1. And Hatred I Bring To The Gods

**Title: Little White Lie**  
><strong>Characters: Loki, Thor<strong>  
><strong>Pairings: none yet, but stay tuned.<strong>  
><strong>Rating: T for imagery and themes<strong>  
><strong>Summary: Deceit, after all, comes naturally to him.<strong>  
><strong>Author's Notes: Different universe from all of my previous fanfictions. I am taking a different look at the ending to the film <em>Thor.<em>Please excuse me for any mistakes I make against comic book canon; I am not very well-versed in that (mythology and the film are more my forte). There may be a certain pairing at some point, but I promise no OC's, and that pairing will not arise until later. All chapter titles are taken from the Poetic Edda, a collection of Norse mythologic poems. Please read and review!**  
><strong>Disclaimer: I don't own it. Surprise, surprise.<strong>

It's kind of scary, Loki thinks, to have this much power.

He sits here, on the throne upon which Odin, the All Father, once sat. And though Odin is not _his _father, Loki still holds a certain reverence for him. After all, the god did raise him and care for him and give him a home and a place in the wide universe. There was little better that Odin could have done to provide for his adopted son. Of course, he could have told him the truth. And Loki finds that he hates Odin for lying to him all those years, for telling him that he was a god of Asgard yet treating him as always less than the other gods of Asgard, least of all Thor.

Thor. Oh, the foolish, idiotic Thor. Only Thor could have gotten the bright idea in his head to go cavorting off to Jotunheim to murder a couple of Frost Giants. Then again, it was mostly due to Loki that he even felt the need to travel to that frigid land in the first place. But Loki refuses to take any of the credit for such an expedition. He is the king, now. And a king is always right. Absolutely, gloriously right.

He fears, though, that Thor will return to Asgard by some strange means. So he has done all that he can to obliterate all possible pathways into Asgard. Loki has already frozen Heimdall, literally. All of the guards, whether they like it or not, must obey their new king. Frigga positively adores Loki and all that he does. The Destroyer is ready at his beck and call, should he require brute force to prevent his false-brother's reentry into Asgard.

But he does fear Thor's imminent return, and he does not doubt that the god will find some way, somehow, back into Asgard. Thor is far too headstrong to let banishment, even by the All Father himself, get in his way when he wants something. And Loki fears that what Thor wants most is to murder him.

So Loki decides to visit Midgard, and he dresses in a suit, wool coat, and grey scarf for the occasion. He uses the simplest of spells – an invisibility incantation – to disguise his entry into the compound that the mortals have built around the fallen Mjolnir. He waits patiently until Agent Phil Coulson, a name that he gathered from the talk within the compound, exits the room in which Thor, no more than a mortal himself now, is being held. And then he slips in, the mirrored glass door sliding closed with a soft bang behind him.

He spins the lies, twists the truth as only he, god of mischief and lies, can do. He tells Thor that their father (and his mouth burns to call the All Father his own father) is dead, and that there is nothing that he, despite his new role as king of all of Asgard, can do to exculpate Thor of his crimes. He tells Thor that this is the last time that they will ever meet, but something inside him actually hopes to see Thor again, eventually. The two grew up together as brothers, even if Loki now knows that they are not, in fact, brothers.

And he leaves, then, but not before trying to pull Mjolnir from the stone in which it is lodged. He is angry at first that he cannot do this task, but then he thinks that neither can Thor, and perhaps it is better that way. Like the throne of Asgard, Mjolnir holds a lot of power. And perhaps one person should not hold both at the same time.

He arrives back in Asgard, and then it is full speed ahead. He sets the Destroyer against Thor, because for once his not-brother has found a way back to Asgard, and he must stop him. Power is power, and for now, that power is his. He would like it to remain his for as long as possible. He will start with forever and go from there.

And then, when he realizes that Thor beats the Destroyer and that he will probably be calling for Heimdall soon, he starts to think about what could happen when Thor does get to Asgard. Because now it is not an 'if'; it is now a 'when.' He figures that Thor could kill him; after all, Thor is infinitely stronger than he is. Thor could easily hit him with the hammer and a couple of punches, and then it would be bye-bye to the not-god with the tongue of silver. Of course, Loki would try to fight back, but magic, like everything else, has its limits.

Or, perhaps, he could stage his own death, he realizes. Because what if he could make Thor and all the rest of the Aesir think him to be dead? They would all forget about him eventually. Though, he supposes that Frigga, like all mothers with dead sons, would mourn him forever. He would make sure to visit her once or twice, demand her silence, and assuage her concerns. He might be cruel and cold and a liar, but he is not heartless.

This will be his course of action, he decides. Deceit, after all, comes naturally to him. This folly will be rather simple to execute.

He visits Midgard again and leases out a comfortable apartment in New York City. It has two bedrooms, though he really only needs one, a kitchen, a sitting room, and a bathroom. It costs him an awful lot of money, but he can simply magick money into his hands, so that will not be much of an issue. He paints all of the walls a luminescent green, and he buys green sheets for his bedroom. He converts the other bedroom into a study of sorts, and he buys one of those Midgardian computers from a blue-and-yellow Best Buy store. He then spends the entire rest of the day learning how to use the computer. He also visits a few select designer boutiques and buys himself a brand-new wardrobe, in brilliant greys, blacks, golds, and greens. Being in New York City, he just has to look his best.

With all of that set up, he returns to Asgard. His heart flutters with anticipation, and he surprises himself with his excitement for his new life on Midgard.

So when Thor comes to Asgard again, wielding that archetypal hammer, Loki is ready. He puts up a good fight, because Thor expects him to, and Loki has wanted to try out some techniques with Gungnir, the spear that the All Father once carried, for ages anyway. The two once-brothers fall upon the Rainbow Bridge and Loki works his magic as he always does. He lets Thor believe that he is the bad guy, and such an appellation is not exactly unfashionable on him.

And then Thor does the unexpected: he tries to break the Rainbow Bridge. Loki yells at him to stop, because then he will never again see that mortal woman that he met on Midgard. And travelling by Bifrost is a whole lot easier than using one of his secret pathways to travel between the realms. His magic is already almost depleted; he wonders if he will even have enough to make it to his apartment on Midgard.

So he tries to stop Thor before all hope is lost. Vaulting at his not-brother, Loki falls into the sea that separates the Bifrost from Asgard proper, Thor falling with him. But Thor catches on to Gungnir, and so does Loki. And then Odin catches on to Thor.

The two false-brothers, brothers in every way but in blood, hang suspended in time in space. Loki's cape swirls disturbingly around his legs, the wind whipping his black hair tight across his face. And then he pleads to the All Father, playing his role perfectly, acting just as they will expect him to act.

And then he lets himself fall, fall, fall down to Midgard, down to the place that he shall now call home.

_To be continued…_


	2. May Flame Play Over Them

Title: Little White Lie  
>Characters: Loki, Thor<br>Pairings: none yet, but stay tuned.  
>Rating: T for imagery and themes<br>Summary: Deceit, after all, comes naturally to him.  
>Author's Notes: All chapter titles are taken from the Poetic Edda, a collection of old Norse poems in which Loki features quite prominently. Loki's Midgardian name is derived from "Luka" (Old Norse for "end" – Ragnarok, an event that Loki is closely tied to, is the end of the gods) and "Bruni" (Old Norse word for "fire" – Loki is thought to be a god of fire). Very sorry that this took so very long to update. Please read and review!<br>Disclaimer: I don't own it. Surprise, surprise.

When he finally falls against the hard rock of Midgard, he breathes a sigh of relief, for now, yet another lie is coming to a close.

Loki is widely known for his brilliant lies and intricate deceptions, but what few know is that keeping up these facades takes quite the toll upon his mental facilities. He loves lying and making mischief more than anything else; don't get him wrong on that. But there are times when he would rather let all of those misconceptions drift away from him like leaves on the pathways of the wind. There are times when he would like to be free of falsehoods.

And now he is. He sits up, running a hand through his mussed-up black hair in a futile attempt to straighten it out, to look presentable. With a wave of his hand, he is dressed in his typical Midgardian attire, and he is ready to go. He stands up and takes a look at his surroundings.

Loki is surprised to realize that he is standing in the center of a rune circle, not unlike the one that his false-brother Thor had landed in on that fateful night of his betrayal.

Well, then, he landed in New Mexico. He could rock New Mexico.

He walks away from the rune circle, kicking at the dust with his leather shoes. It is not very cold here, though it is wintertime. Still, he is dressed warmly, because he intends to go to New York as soon as possible. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men do oft go astray, and, well…

On his way to find a diner in town and get something to eat, he just so manages to bump into none other than Jane Foster. Thor's Midgardian, mortal woman.

"Oh, hello, I didn't see you there!" she says, scooting around him. He realizes that she dropped some papers when their bodies collided, and like the good gentleman that he is, he bends down to pick them up for her. She grants him a shy smile, her eyes scanning over him, searching for an identifying feature.

"Are you new in town? I don't think I've ever seen you before," she says, accepting the papers that he gathered for her.

"Yes, I'm new here," he replies, instantly adjusting his diction to sound more like hers. He is certain that Thor must have stuck out like a sore thumb in this mortal town.

But at least she doesn't know who he is, at least not yet. That's a good sign. Perhaps Thor didn't tell her everything about everything and everyone, after all.

"Well, my name's Jane Foster," she says, awkwardly sticking out her hand for him to shake. He does, sveltely giving her a good impression. He intends to come across as the perfect model of a man, a stark contrast to the impression that he gave off in Asgard.

"And I am Luka," he says, "Luka Bruni." He had mediated long and hard on the subject of a name to use while on Midgard. He couldn't exactly introduce himself as Loki – they would either think him insane or a wild devotee of the trickster god. Not that he gets many devotees, anyway. But "Luka Bruni" had a foreign air to it, which could easily explain why he didn't look exactly Midgardian (traces of immortality, regardless if one is Aesir or Jotun, are rather difficult to remove). Most mortals, wherever they hail from, would simply think him from another country.

"Oh, wow, that's quite the name," Jane Foster laughs, and Loki smiles, for she has fallen for his trick.

"Like I said, Miss Foster, I'm not from around here," he replies.

"Oh, right, right." She blushes again, and Loki starts to see why Thor might have fallen for this girl. She is kind, sweet, and helpful, and she acts like every Aesir woman on Asgard. Oh, Thor. Always caught up in his old ways.

"I do have a question, Miss Foster," he says. "Could you possibly show me to somewhere I could get something to eat, and then maybe somewhere that I could stay the night?"

"Well, we don't have any hotels here," she says. "Small town, you know. There's a diner up the street; I was actually just heading there. I guess…well, you could join me for lunch? And as for tonight…well, I'm not sure what Erik will think of me, but we have an extra room."

"If I would not impose," he replies cordially. Oh, this is just perfect. He not only gets a free room, but he also gets to spy on Thor's little mortal woman for a day or two.

"Oh, no, of course not! We've had others stay over before, too," she says, and there is a touch of heartbreak and loss in her voice. Thor, then. He has stayed with her before.

"Well, if I'm not too much trouble," he says, "I suppose it's a done deal?"

"Yep!" she exclaims. "Now, let's go get some lunch. And I want to hear more about you!"

As they walk to the diner, stories and lies and false memories of family fill his head, and a smirk begins to show upon his face. Oh yes. This is going to get _good. _


	3. Tales Often Escape a Sitting Man

Title: Little White Lie  
>Characters: Loki, Thor, Jane Foster<br>Pairings: none yet, but stay tuned.  
>Rating: T for imagery and themes<br>Summary: Deceit, after all, comes naturally to him.  
>Author's Notes: Remember, please read and review! It helps to know what I'm doing right and what I need to work on.<br>Disclaimer: I don't own it. Surprise, surprise.

"So, uh, you said your name was Luka, right?" Jane asks, fiddling with her fork as she waits for their food to arrive. Clearly, she is trying to break the ice a bit. Oh, Jane Foster knows _nothing _of breaking ice. Nothing like telling your son that he's actually not your son to brighten a dreary day! At least, that's how Odin seems to see the world.

"Yes, Miss Foster," Loki replies. He sits still, exercising his never-ending patience.

"Okay, you can just call me Jane," she says with a nervous laugh. "You remind me of Th-" She catches herself, looking anxiously to him.

"Who do I remind you of, _Jane_?" he asks, putting special emphasis on her given name. He already knows what she was going to say; he just wants to hear her say it.

"I don't know… No offense, Luka, but you're a stranger to me. And, well, this is, you know, kind of personal information," she says.

"I promise I won't tell a soul," he replies with a grin. "My lips are sealed." And they were once, literally. He has the scars, little white lies dotting the skin around his lips, to prove it. That wasn't one of his better tricks, really. He is quite the wordsmith, but even words cannot stop the advance of a silver needle and black thread.

"Well," Jane starts, twisting her hands in her lap. "This is going to sound really weird, but, well…see, I'm an astrophysicist."

"That's not very strange," he replies. Their food arrives – a simple salad for her and one of those cheeseburgers that he sees everyone eating wherever he goes for him. He regards his meal for a second before picking up a French fry and biting into it.

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" she says with a smile. "That's not the strange part. I was looking into some light disturbances out in the desert here, but then there was this tornado sort of thing, and we drove straight into it, because, well, because it looked cool and I thought it might have something to do with what I was researching. But when we got there, the tornado disappeared and we ran into this guy."

"You hit someone?" Loki asks, astounded. Thor had not told him about this! Though, he supposed that he wouldn't, seeing as their ties together were rather strained at the moment.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you would've too!" she exclaims, and Loki tries to suppress his laughter. He cannot even drive, much less hit someone. But at least this shows that she is taking his disguise well. She is treating him like she would treat any other man who happened to enter this town today.

"Anyway," she continues after pausing to take a bite of her salad, "I hit this guy, and so I get out of the car, and I look him over and he's obviously not dead, but there's something wrong with him, you know?" He nods accordingly. "He spouts some nonsense, well, I thought it was nonsense, about being the god of Thunder, Thor, and that kind of thing."

"Ah, the Norse gods!" he says. He decides to start talking about his fake history, to warm her up to what might soon come. "I studied Norse mythology at university. Well, that was my minor. I majored in International Studies and Business and French."

"What's your job?" she asks. "If you don't mind me asking."

"I'm the CEO of a large corporation, actually," he says, spinning the web of lies. "I used to live in France, but the company's moving here now, so I bought an apartment in New York City."

"Well, how'd you end up here in New Mexico, then?"

"I was travelling from France to Russia to see some family, and then to here for a connecting flight. But my flight to New York got delayed, so here I am," he says, and he sure can talk the talk. He is surprised with how naturally human, with how _mortal _he sounds. He is quite the chameleon, he supposes, and it is in his nature to be what he is not.

"Oh, okay," she says. "Anyway, to continue, I let him stay with us for a bit, but we got into some issues with the authorities, and well, you know, stuff happened. Thor, it turns out, really is a Norse god. And he had to go back to Asgard to stop his evil brother…oh, what was his name?"

"Loki, perhaps?" he prompts, playing his role of the university graduate to the letter. "In Norse mythology, Loki was your typical trickster archetype, but he was a little more violent than you might expect."

"Yeah, that's the one!" she says. "Thanks. So Thor had to go back to Asgard and kill Loki, and he promised me that he would be back before the end of the week. But he's obviously not back yet. Maybe…does time work differently on Asgard?"

"Maybe it does," Loki replies. "But mythology doesn't reveal that sort of thing to us." Oh, how he loves this! This is his element, this trickery! And though he really detests living the lie sometimes, he does enjoy the occasional folly, like this situation here.

"I'm just kind of worried, you know?" she says, taking another bite of her salad. "I mean, I know he'll come back to me. When he promised me that he would, he just had that look in his eyes…" She paused, regarding Loki with a new intensity. "There's something special about you, Luka," she said suddenly. "I'm not quite sure what it is, but something about you makes me want to talk to you and tell you everything."

"I'm sorry if I put you on edge," he says quietly. But in reality, he's not sorry. Not one bit sorry, in fact. He is ecstatic. Finally, someone is recognizing his gifts, his talents for the dark magic! He had been using magic against her that entire time, making his eyes greener and warmer and kinder, and making her want to keep talking. Even the most scientific of mortals, then, can be fooled by a simple magic trick. Interesting.

"Oh, no, it's fine," she replies hastily, turning her attention back to her salad.

"He'll come back one day," Loki says, removing his napkin from his lap and tossing it on to the table. "I'm sure of it." Though he really isn't sure of it, and he really hopes that Thor doesn't find a way back to Asgard so soon. He needs time. Lots of time.

Jane laughs, but it is hesitant and halted. "I guess we should be going, then, right?" she asks, digging in her pockets for some money.

Ever the gentleman devil, Loki pulls his hand out from under the table. "I've got it," he says, laying the cash on the table. Easy trick, that was.

She blushes, and he can't help but smile.

"I guess we're going then," she says, and they stand up and walk out, heading to her building.


End file.
